White Mountains offer a view into state's past at historic homes and sites

You will literally be riding through history when you journey up Mt. Washington on the famous Cog Railway, the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world and the only one currently operating in North America. Now in its 152nd year, the railway not only features amazing views as you travel through three climate zones, but it also begins and ends at museums and learning centers. At the base station, the Cog Railway Museum shows how the railroad, the second steepest in the world, was built. At the summit, there’s a visitor center, observation deck and interactive weather exhibit. Next door is the Tip Top House, an original summit hotel built in 1853, where railroad founder Sylvester Marsh hunkered down in an 1857 storm. Trains run late April through November.